


Swapped

by Nerdqueen395



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Blood, Canon Compliant, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Explicit Language, Fanart, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Langst, Look out folks here come the feels, M/M, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), Triggers, klance, klangst, now with fanart!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-07-03 13:09:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15819528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdqueen395/pseuds/Nerdqueen395
Summary: After a black hole sends Keith into an alternate universe where Lance and him are fiances, Altea is a corrupted Science Organization, and Voltron is a hidden organization dedicated to stopping Altea, Keith must fight for a way to return back to his universe.Lance is shocked when a black hole leaves him with a Keith from another universe. A Keith that can't fight, doesnt trust Allura and Coran, and flirts with Lance... A lot. Can Lance ever help this Keith get home and get his Keith back?





	1. Black Hole

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Klance fic, gay fic, and non platonic Voltron fic! I hope you enjoy, and please let me know if I need to fix anything!

“Lance! Babe!” Keith shouted, chasing after the tall Cuban man, papers falling out of his arms.

Lance turned around, and his grim expression turned to that of a smirk as Keith caught up.

“Keith, what's wrong?” Lance asked, bending down to pick up some of the spilt papers, “You look a bit flushed.”

Keith breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath, and pushed his glasses further up his nose, “Sorry...just...Matt...He found...something,” Keith panted.

Lance’s frown returned, “What?” Lance leaned in close, glancing around for any more stray scientists. Altea, where he worked, was a scientific organization, dedicated to discovery...even if it meant destroying the world and it's people with it, as was the leader of Altea’s hidden motto. Something Lance had discovered the hard way. Because of this, Lance had set up a network of people with similar thoughts about Altea, known as Voltron. They worked to keep life changing information and technology, out of the hands of Altea.

If Matt had discovered something and sent Keith to tell Lance first, that meant it was something big, something they couldn't risk falling into the wrong hands.

“What did he find?” Lance whispered.

“I don't know exactly what it is, but it's big, be at Green base tonight.”

Lance nodded, and pulled away just in time to see Coran walk in, Lance nodded at him, “Sir.”

Coran flashed Lance a wide smile, “McClain, my boy how are things going?” He noticed Keith and winked, “Busy is my guess, have you two decided a date for the wedding yet?”

Lance laughed loudly, and Keith blushed, pulling close to Lance, who swung his arm over the smaller man's shoulders, “Not yet, unfortunately. We'll be sure to let you know as soon as we find out. Although, with all the work Allura’s had us doing, I doubt we'll be able to find time to have a wedding anytime soon.”

Coran chuckled, “Allura’s just as invested in this relationship as the rest of us, I'm sure you can convince her to give you two some time to get things in order.”

Keith snorted, “If anything, she'll give us a break, only to double our workload afterwards, you know how she is.”

Coran shook his head, still smiling, “That's true, well, I've got to get going, Adam mentioned he found something earlier he wants me to check out.”

Lance waved Coran goodbye, smiling, “Alright, well, see you later sir, it was nice talking to you.”

“Same for you my boy.”

The two watched as Coran faded from view, before spinning round to face each other.

“You don't think…” Lance began.

Keith nodded, sullenly, staring fiercely into Lance's eyes, concern swimming around the deep violet irises, “I do, it's possible Adam found what Matt found, we'll have to hurry this up, I'll contact base.”

Lance nodded, and leaned in, pecking Keith in the cheek, “I have to get going, Rolo’s gonna wonder where I am, I told him I'd help reconfigure this wiring for some satellite he built. I'll talk to you later sweetheart, take care.”

“Love ya babe,” Keith said, watching as Lance walked away, his ponytail swinging in the distance. Pushing his glasses up, which had begun their descent back down his nose as soon as Coran had appeared, Keith stood up straight, pushed the sleeves of his sweater up his arms, determinedly, and began speed walking towards Matt's office. Keith had work to do.

Artist, Nerdqueen395

***Meanwhile in another universe***

Keith stood next to Pidge, one hand on the chair, another on the console in front of them. Varying beeps and waves rippled across the screen in front of them.

“What’re you doing Pidge?” Keith asks, watching the smaller girl type furiously.

“Trying to figure out what all these weird readings are,” Pidge muttered, “They started appearing a few weeks ago, right after the hospital released us, they've been growing stronger since.”

Keith's brow furrowed, “And you don't know what they are?”

“No!” Pidge shouted, exasperated, “They aren't like anything I've ever seen, all I've managed to do so far is isolate the area they're coming from,” Pidge pointed at a dot on the screen, “See there? That's about five miles outside of the Garrison, I want to check it out but,” She frowned, “Shiro doesn't really want me going by myself, says it's too dangerous.”

“I'll go with you,” Keith said, surprising himself. He didn't know exactly what was going on, this kind of science being outside his area of expertise and all, but for some reason this intrigued him. He felt almost drawn to the area.

“Really?” Pidge said, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded, “It sounds interesting.”

Pidge smiled brightly up at Keith, “Thanks man! When do you want to leave?”

“How about right now?” Keith suggested, “Yanno, the sooner the better?”

“Great!” Pidge shouted, leaping out of the chair, “I'll go get my stuff and meet you down in the garage, see ya!” Pidge ran out the door, raving towards her room to retrieve her equipment.

Keith chuckled at her energy, and was so distracted he didn't notice someone sneaking up behind him until a hand placed itself in his shoulder.

“Sneaking out with Pidge, huh? You sure that's a good idea?”

Keith jumped in his skin, turning to glare at Lance, “Geez Lance, give a man some warning next time.”

Lance chuckled, “Sorry dude, but seriously,” he frowned, “If Shiro seems to think it's a bad idea, are you sure you two should be sneaking out to check it?”

Keith shrugged Lance's hand off his shoulder, “He said it was dangerous to go alone,” he pointed out, “We aren't going to be alone.”

Lance's frown remained, “I don't know man, I've got a bad feeling about this.”

“Then why don't you come with us if you're so worried?” Keith said, he didn't know why he invited Lance to come with them, much like he didn't know why he felt drawn to that strange reading. It just felt right.

Lance furrowed his brow, “Alright, but I'm bringing my Bayard with me, this just doesn't seem...safe.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “C’mon Lance, nothing's gonna happen.”

“That's what they always say right before something bad happens, Keith, that's movie rule 101.”

“Well, this isn't a movie, so don't worry, now c'mon,” Keith motioned for Lance to follow him, “Pidge is waiting for us.” and with that, the two boys left the computer room to head down to the garage, not noticing how the screen lit up with one final message.

“Warning, strange readings located, it is advised to avoid location until further research can be completed.”

***

Keith knocked on the door, “Matt, it's me, Keith, I have something I need to tell you.”

The door creaked open, revealing a tired looking red head, deep purple bags evident beneath his bloodshot eyes. “Hey Keith,” Matt said, “What brings you back here so soon?”

Keith swallowed, “It's about,” he leans in and whispers, “It's about those weird readings from before.”

Matt's eyes widened, and he glanced around for anyone before ushering Keith into his office.

The inside was dark, save for a brightly lit computer screen. Food wrappers, empty coffee mugs and files haphazardly littered the room.

Keith wrinkled his nose in disgust, “I still don't know how you can have it so gross in here, certainly one of the higher ups has gotten on your case about this.”

Matt shrugged, “Hey, as long as I continue to please them with my above average research, no one really cares about my work space. Now,” Matt plopped down upon his chair and leaned back, “What about those readings I told you about?”

Keith frowned, “Adam, he picked them up as well. Lance and I ran into Coran who was heading down to check it out.”

“Shit,” Matt swore and spun around towards his computer, opening up a saved file before typing furiously, “I knew it was a matter of time before they found it too but...shit.” Matt groaned and placed his head in his hands, “This is really bad, apparently the signals are growing stronger too, they're almost unsafe to approach at this point.”

Keith's frown deepened, “What should we do?”

“Well, I can't do anything, not with my level of clearance, you on the other hand…” Matt gazed up at Keith, “What level are you again?”

“Level 3.”

“Perfect, you might be able to get close to it, make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. See if you can convince Adam to give the research over to us.”

Keith spluttered,  “But-but, you know how bad I am at these kinds of missions! I get all nervous and mess them up!”

“I know, but besides Lance and Shiro, you're the only one with a high enough clearance to get close right now, and it would be odd for Lance or Shiro to ask about it, they're not in the same department.”

Keith sighed, this was true. Keith and Matt were the only ones in the Space and Astrology Department, Shiro and Lance were both level 2’s, but Lance was Robotics and Computer Science Department, while Shiro was the Biological Department. Two very different branches from the Space Department.

It was up to Keith. “Alright,” Keith said, “I'll do it.”

Matt smiled, “Good luck man, be careful.”

Keith smirked as he opened the door, “I always am.”

***

“So….” Lance said, tapping his finger on his knee, “What exactly are we looking at?”

Pidge stared at her computer screen, “I'm not quite sure, it says the readings are from here, but…”

The three teens stood in the middle of an open desert, nothing to be seen for miles.

Keith sighed, “Well, this is disappointing.”

“You're telling me,” Pidge grumbled, “I can't believe Shiro didn't want me coming up here, the only thing I'm in danger of is getting a sunburn.”

Lance chuckled, “Well, guess we'd better going then, huh?”

“Nope,” Pidge said, “Just because there's nothing here we can see, doesn't mean there's nothing going on here. There's gotta be some reason for all these weird readings.”

Lance groaned, “Ah, c'mon,”

Keith glared at him, “You're the one who wanted to come with us, Lance.”

“I know, I know…” Then Lance frowned, “Hey, did you guys feel that?”

“Feel what?” Keith asked, just as feeling, almost like hitting a bass drum, trilled through him. “What the-?”

Pidge's computer started beeping insistently,  “Holy shit,” Pidge shouted, “These...this is off the charts!”

The world started shaking, or maybe it was just them, Keith would never know. A soft ringing in his ears grew louder and louder, as a large, black hole opened up in front of them.

“Fuck!” Pidge shouted, “Quick! Get to the car!”

Pidge and Lance stood up, and began racing for safety, but Keith found himself frozen where he was, unable to move as the black hole grew closer to him.

“Keith!” Lance shouted, realizing that Keith hasn't followed them, “Keith, what are you doing?” Lance raced back towards him and began pulling on Keith's arm, “Keith, c'mon! We gotta go!”

Closer, ever closer. Keith was drawn to it. Eventually, Lance's voice was drowned out by the ringing bells in his ears. He didn't hear Pidge, running up and grabbing Keith as well, didn't hear Pidge shout that they had to go. And as the black hole reached them, didn't hear Lance grab Pidge and pull her away, shouting in dismay as Keith was swallowed up by the black.

And then all was silent.

Absolutely silent.

***

Keith sat next to Adam, who was talking excitedly about the strange readings that kept popping up, just as he had been doing so for the past hour. After Keith had told Adam that Coran had mentioned something weird, Adam had excitedly invited Keith on his mission to the desert to check out the strange readings.

They had been sitting for about a half hour in the middle of nowhere, watching and waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

Keith was beginning to wonder if it had just been a false alarm, that they were just picking up satellite interference, or, and Keith smiled at this thought, real Alien chatter. Man, Keith would love to prove that Aliens were real. It would be the greatest achievement of his life, well, the greatest achievement after marrying Lance that was.

So lost in his thoughts as he, that he didn't notice that Adam had stopped talking until Adam tapped his shoulder.

“Keith,” Adam said, quietly, “I think you should check this out.”

Keith frowned, “What is it?” He glanced down at the scans and his eyes widened, “What the fuck,” he said, “That can't be right, that looks like-"

“A black hole.” Adam nodded, “But that's impossible. A black hole can't possibly form out of nowhere, let alone in the middle of the desert.”

“Are you sure this data is all correct?”

Adam nodded, “I ran through it twice, if my calculations are correct, a black hole is supposed to form, right here, within the next five minutes.”

Keith shivered, “We've got to get out of here.” He stood up to get ready to pack, but Adam stopped him.

“Keith, we can't leave, not now, not when we are on the brink of the greatest discovery in history.”

“No, we're not.” Keith growled, “We are currently,” he checked the clock, “three minutes and forty two seconds from being swallowed by a black hole. We. Need. To. Go. Now.”

“Keith-!”

Then, a feeling, almost like a bass drum being hit, ran through both men, Keith stumbled and fell to the ground.

A high pitched ringing scorched their ears, and Keith clutched his head in pain, staring in awe as a massive black hole formed before them.

“Adam! We have to go!” Keith shouted, but the man didn't move, “Adam!” Keith watched as the black hole grew closer, knowing that soon it would swallow the dumbfounded scientist up. Growling, Keith latched onto Adams arm, and threw the man out of the way of harm.

He turned around, just in time to see the black hole swallow him up.

“I'm sorry, Lance.” Keith whispered, closing his eyes as he was lost to the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE FOLLOW ME ON:  
> Tumblr: @nerdqueen395  
> Insta: @nerdqueen395  
> Discord: https://discord.gg/nxw5HD


	2. Alternate Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You have got to be shitting me."

“Keith!” Lance shouted, watching in dismay as his friend was swallowed up by the black hole. He quickly let go of an equally stunned Pidge and raced towards the spot where Keith had vanished from.

“No, no, no, Keith!” Lance sobbed and fell to the ground. “This can't be,” he whispered.

Keith was gone, and there was nothing they could do about it. Why hadn't Keith moved from that spot? Why had Lance allowed Keith to be taken from them?

Tears ran freely down Lance's face, and he made no attempt to wipe them away.

“Keith…” Just then, a bright, white light flashed before them, and Lance shut his eyes to the glare. When it disappeared, Lance blinked the black spots, dancing before his eyes, away. And saw, lying on the ground, Keith.

“Keith!” Lance shouted for joy, tripping over his own feet and laughing as he came crashing down besides the body before him.

“Dios, Keith, thank-" Lance stopped, because this couldn't possibly be Keith.

For one thing, he was missing his token mullet. For another, the older man lying before him, was dressed in a baggy red sweater, glasses perched upon his scarless face. Stubble littered the usually clean shaven chin.

The man groaned and slowly sat up, taking into account his surroundings. “Adam?” The man said, beginning to wake up more as he swung his head frantically, searching for someone. “Adam!” the man saw Lance and grabbed his shoulders.

“Where am I?” He insisted, “What's going on, where's Adam?”

“I-I-" Lance stuttered, “I don't know who you're talking about!”

The man squinted at Lance for a moment, before his violet eyes widened, “Lance?” He whispered, “Is that-is that you?”

“Er...yes?”

The man pulled Lance into a hug, “What are you doing here? What happened to your hair?” He pulled back and stroked Lance's face, “Your scar, where did it go? You look so young!”

Lance leapt away from the man, “Listen dude, I don't know who you are, where you came from, or how you knew my name, but I think first you should tell us who you are, and what happened to Keith!”

The man looked confused, “What are you talking about? I am Keith, don't you recognize-" the man froze, “Wait a minute,” he stood up and saw Pidge. “Katie? What're you...oh no.” he gripped his hair and began pacing, “No, no, no,” he stared wildly at Lance, “I always theorized it but...this can't be happening.”

Lance had had enough, he pulled out his Bayard and formed his gun, “Listen here, jackass, where. Is. Keith.”

The man stared, wide eyed at the Bayard, “Well, this universe is definitely different from mine.”

Lance began charging the gun.

“Wait!” The man shouted, “I think I know where your Keith is!”

“Where!” Lance shouted, “Tell me now!”

“I think,” The man swallowed hard, “I think he might be in my universe.”

***

Keith moaned, squinting at the bright light, what had happened?

Oh. Right. Black hole in the middle of the desert.

He slowly sat up, wondering where he was, but, that couldn't be right? He was still in the desert?

“Lance?” He groaned, “Pidge?”

“Oh no,” Keith heard a voice say, “Lance is gonna kill me.”

Keith stood up and turned towards the voice, shocked to see a familiar face. “Adam?” He whispered, “How are you...how are you still alive?”

Adam squeaked, “You know my name?”

“Er, yeah,  it's me, Keith? You know, the kid you and Shiro practically adopted?”

Adam squinted at him, “Shiro and I never…” then his eyes went wide, “Oh no, Keith and I always theorized this, but it was only a theory! Oh man, Lance is really gonna kill me.”

“Adam, what happened? What are you talking about? Where's Lance?”

Adam swallowed hard, “Well, Keith...um, you're kinda in...another universe?” He chuckled uncomfortably, “Surprise?”

***

Lance watched as the man walled stubbornly towards the computer Pidge and tossed onto the car, “Hold on,” he said, “What do you mean ‘Keith is in another universe’?”

The man sighed, “Listen, Lance, sweetheart, I love you, but obviously the you in this universe is a little slow.”

Lance scowled and grabbed the man's arm, “Listen, buddy, I don't appreciate being called that, I'll have you know I am very smart, and very, very pissed off right now. Explain.”

The man sighed, “Listen, I am Keith, or at least, a Keith from another universe. My theory is, both your Keith and I were sucked up by that black hole at the same time, and somehow switched universes. Meaning, your Keith is in trouble, and I need to figure out a way to send us both back home.”

Lance let go of Keith's arm, “You're kidding, right?”

Keith shook his head, “I wish I was,” he picked up the computer, “This yours?”

“Um, no, it's Pidge’s.”

“Pidge?”

Pidge raised her hand, “Heyo, I exist, yes, that's my computer, and your saying that was a breach between our two universes?”

Keith just blinked at her, “Katie? This can't be right,” Keith ignored them and began talking to himself, “I figured there would be at least some similarities between the two universe's, but Katie being the tech genius? That's a little more different than I thought it would be,”

“Hold on,” Pidge squared up in front of Keith, “Are you telling me that in your universe I'm stupid?”

Keith looked down at her in surprised, “No, not at all, it's just that you aren't a tech genius. I mean, I've only met you a couple times, but…” Keith shook his head, “I'm just used to you being Matt's baby sister, who occasionally hung out with us.”

Pidge looked offended, “Matt's baby sister?” She folded her arms, “I'm not sure I like the sound of this universe.”

Keith smirked, “It is a little grim, that's why we need to get your Keith back here, ASAP. There's things going on there that depend on me.”

Lance growled, “Well, there's things going on here that depend on Keith too, especially what with another alien invasion in sight.”

Keith stared at Lance, “Alien...invasion?”

Lance nodded, “And based on the way you look, I'm guessing you're not much of a fighter.”

Keith ignored Lance's last statement, grinning like mad man, “You guys have ALIENS?”

“Er, yes?” Pidge said, looking at Lance, who could almost hear her thoughts, _What the fuck is wrong with this guy?_

Keith leapt into the air, “Ha! I knew it! I knew aliens existed!” Lance watched in horror as Keith began happy dancing.

Pidge leaned closer to Lance and whispered, “Wait until he finds out the Keith here is part alien.”

Lance snorted, “Aw man, he's gonna blow his brains out.”

Keith grabbed Lance's face between his hands, smiling, “I think I really like this universe,” he said, before leaning in, and kissing Lance on the mouth.

Lance stood there stunned for a moment, before Keith began humming and heading back towards the car.

Pidge chuckled, “Guess we know where you an Keith stand in his universe.”

All the blood drained from Lance's body, “You've gotta be shitting me.”

***

“So wait,” Keith asked,  for the millionth time, “You're telling me, I'm in another universe?”

Adam, facing the road, nodded, “Yup, which means our Keith is trapped in yours, which, sadly, probably means that Lance is gonna murder me.”

Keith frowned, “Why would Lance murder you for losing the me from this universe?”

“Well...I should probably let you know this just in case something...happens..but uh...you and Lance are kinda...fiance's?”

“What?!” Keith blushed furiously, “No way! I would never date that guy!”

“Well, you do here, so watch out,” Adam smiled awkwardly at Keith, “He's kinda overprotective when it comes to you.” Adam pulled up to large facility with a big capital A on the front.

Keith watched as a tall, tan man came racing out the door towards them. He was dressed in a dark blue turtleneck, and his hair was pulled back in a small ponytail. As he grew closer, Keith could also see dark ocean eyes, the left one framed by a small pink scar. His face had a grizzled, “I woke up like this” look, and Keith felt his heart give a little flutter at this hunk of a man.

Adam paled, “Aaand that would be Lance, I called ahead.”

Keith paled, “Th-that's Lance?” He spluttered.

Adam nodded, “If I die, tell Shiro I loved him. And let Allura know that it was me who kept eating her packed lunches, she deserves to know that they were the highlight of my day.”

Adam parked the car, And Keith stepped out, looking up at the most intimidating Lance he had ever seen.

Keith was fucked.

“You have got to be shitting me.” Lance said.

Keith was very fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do I write th is so fast? Lots of junk food and zero sleep. Please leave a kudos or a comment!  
> PLEASE FOLLOW ME ON:  
> Tumblr: @nerdqueen395  
> Insta: @nerdqueen395  
> Discord: https://discord.gg/nxw5HD


	3. Common Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voltron has many meanings

 

Keith stared in awe at this new Lance that sent fear and a little bit of something else coursing through him. Adam leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Close your mouth, you look like fish.” Keith snapped it shut.

Lance stood before them, arms crossed, tapping his fingers across _massive_ biceps.

“Adam. What. The. Fuck did you do to my fiance.” He stated it as more of a demand than a question.

Adam swallowed hard, “Well, see, we were checking out these readings and a black hole came and kinda...sucked him up? And uh...well?” He gestured at Keith, “Meet the love of your life, alternate universe style.”

Keith raised a hand, “Hello?”

Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Adam, go get Coran. Now.”

Adam nodded, “Yup, on it, see later Keith,” and with that, he got out as soon as he could, relief evident on his face.

Keith wished Adam would stay, he didn't feel comfortable with this new Lance, staring him down.

“So,” Lance began, “Alternate universe huh?”

Keith nodded,  “That's what I've been told.

Lance groaned and rubbed the furrow of his brow, “And my guess is it's not exactly a safe universe?”

“What?” Keith frowned, “How could you tell?”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Please, I know the difference between a kitchen accident and a knife fight. What, are you in a gang or something?”

Keith swallowed hard, “Something...like that. I really need to get back, my friends...they need me.”

“And we need our Keith, your universe isn't the only one with problems kid, don't worry, I'm certain we can find a way.”

Keith narrowed his eyes, “Don't. Call me _kid_.”

Lance shrugged, “Hey, not my problem you're younger than my Keith, to me, you are a kid, so suck it up.”

Keith opened his mouth, ready to argue against him, but stopped once Adam and Coran came into view.

“No way,” he whispered. Coran looked generally the same, mustache and all, but his token cheek marks and pointed ears were gone, replaced by a normal,albeit shocked, human looking face.

“Well I'll be,” Coran whistled, “Proof of universes besides ours, amazing!” He grabbed hold of Keith's face, turning his head this way and that, pinching cheeks, opening mouths; the final straw was grabbing hold of Keith's eye and forcing it open.

Keith swatted Coran’s hand away, “Can you stop that?!”

Coran ignored Keith, but still pulled away, turning to Lance, “I'd like to run some blood tests, see just how close both of them are to each other.”

Lance nodded, “Understood, hey kid,” Lance said, turning to Keith, “That ok with you?”

Keith snorted, “It’s fine with me, but based on what I've seen so far, I doubt out blood is going to match at all.”

“What makes you say that?” Lance asks, one eyebrow raised.

“You guys don't have aliens, do you?”

Lance's eyes narrowed, “No,” he said slowly, “Why? Do you?”

“I'm half alien, so yes.”

Keith laughed on the inside as he watched Adam begin to freak out and start asking questions in an endless blurb, Coran muttering theories to himself, and Lance, standing there as stoic as ever. The only change was a slight smile on his face.

“Wait until Matt hears about this. Keith is probably like a kid in a candy store.”

Credit goes to Succubus1982

***

“Holy fuck!” Keith screamed on the top of his lungs. Allura and Coran winced, covering their ears.

Lance sent them an apologetic glance, “Sorry, it's just...I don't think they have aliens where he's from.”

“We do!” Keith said proudly,  “We haven't found any yet, but they're out there!”

Pidge groaned, “I want emotionally constipated Keith back, this one's giving me hives.”

“So,” Coran begins slowly, “You mean to tell me that Keith, our Keith, is somehow in another universe and has switched places with this Keith?”

Lance nodded sullenly, “Yup, and we need to get him back to his universe asap as apparently he has ‘shit going down’.” Lance made quotation marks in the air.

Keith nodded, “I have a lot of work to do, and I can't risk anything messing it up, Lance is counting on me.”

“He means his Lance, the me from another universe,” Lance clarified, “Which is really weird to think about.”

Pidge snorted, “Almost as weird as a dumb me.”

“She's not dumb,” Keith pointed out, “Just not as genius as the rest of Voltron.” Keith slapped his hand across his mouth, “Pretend I didn't say that.”

“What, Voltron?” Lance asked quizzically, “What's wrong with Voltron? If anything, I'm surprised you have that in your universe too since you don't exactly have aliens.”

Keith's brow furrowed, “You guys have a Voltron too?”

Lance nodded, “Yup, I pilot the red lion, Keith is our leader, he pilots the black lion.”

Keith just looked more confused, “Pilot? I'm in charge? I think Voltron might be different for us, Voltron is an organization run by Lance, code name, Blue Lion.”

Lance's eyes widened, “I'm the boss there?”

“Bigger question is, Voltron isn't a super weapon?” Pidge asks.

“Super weapon?” Keith continued to look confused, “Ok, how about you show me what Voltron is here, and then we discuss the differences.”

Pidge nodded, “Sounds good, Coran? Allura?”

Allura sighed, “I suppose it's all right with me, just...no going inside the lions, alright?”

Pidge saluted her, “Yes ma’am,” she motioned for Keith to follow, “Let's go, nerd.”

“What? Nerd?” Keith asked, following Pidge, “Why nerd?”

“Would you prefer dweeb? Geek? Space Boy?”

“I take it your Keith is a bit different from me.”

“Well, yes, for one thing, the only time I've ever seen Keith smile was when he talked about knives.”

“Knives?” Keith squeaked, “What kind of person is this Keith?”

Lance sighed, catching up with them he said, “One who's part alien, now again, I'm the leader where you're from? That's right?”

Keith froze, “He's part _what_?”

Pidge rolled her eyes, “Great, you broke him.”

***

After Coran finished testing Keith's blood (“Amazing, the properties contained in these cells alone!”), Lance asked Coran if he could take Keith out for a bit.

“Well, I suppose so, as long as he stays within Garrison City, but why?”

Lance flashed Keith an uneasy look, making him squirm in the med chair, “My fiance is currently living in a universe that has aliens, and, based on my observations, isn't very safe. I'd like to know exactly what my Keith has gotten himself into, and,” he smiled at Keith, and the squirming increased, as did the faint blush in his cheeks, “My guess is that Keith is probably feeling a little uncomfortable here, and is tired and hungry.”

Keith opened his mouth to say he wasn't hungry, but changed his mind as Lance glared at him, “Starved,” he squeaked.

Coran sighed, “Alright, but only for a few hours, when Allura gets back she may want to assess the situation herself as well.”

Lance nodded, “Understood sir, munchkin, follow me.”

Keith grumbled, his face now a vibrant red as he hopped out of the chair, “I'm not a munchkin,” he argued weakly.

“Until you're my height or taller, you're a munchkin, now put on your big boy panties and hurry up.”

It turned out that the restaurant, Frank's Pizzaria, was one that both universes shared. Keith stood a little straighter when he saw that that was where they were going.

Lance smiled at him, “I thought you'd like this place, it was Keith's-My Keith's that is, favorite place to eat.”

“It's good pizza,” Keith said.

Lance nodded, “That it is,” he opened the door, and Keith's spirit lifted at the familiar jingle of the bell.

Lance led him to a small corner table, and gestured for him to sit down, “This is Keith and my’s usual table, go ahead, make yourself comfortable.”

Easier said than done, Keith thought, as Lance sat down in front of him, arm muscles bulging as he placed his palms on the table for balance, shifting his body into place.

A small waitress with bright pink hair rushed over with two menus, “Anything I can get you two gentlemen to drink while you discuss your order?” She turned to Lance, “The usual?”

Lance nodded, “And no beer for the midget, he's underage.”

Keith guffawed, “I am not underage, I'm twenty one!”

Lance raised an eyebrow, “So you want a beer?”

Keith slouched, “...no.”

“That's what I thought, my Keith doesn't like beer either,” he turned to the waitress, who looked confused, “One beer, and one water,” he winked at her, “Thanks Mackenzie.”

She blushed, “No problem Mr. McClain,” and she rushed to go get their drinks.

Keith frowned at Lance, “I thought you were engaged, you know, to the other me.”

Lance nodded, “I am, normally my Keith flirts with the waitresses too, it's how we get discounts,” he shot the same wink he had given Mackenzie back at Keith, “It's a trick we both picked up on a while ago.”

Keith snorted, “At least you and the Lance I know share one thing in common,”

“And what's that?”

“You're both terrible flirts.”

Lance laughed, “Good, we found some common ground,” Mackenzie returned with the drinks, and set them down softly in front of them, “Thanks McBoo,” Lance said.

She blushed, “Anything else I can get you?”

“Our usual order, one large everything!”

Mackenzie nodded and scurried away again.

Lance glanced over at Keith, “You ok with that?”

Keith nodded, “Any pizza is fine with me.”

“Good,” Lance leaned forward, elbows on the table, his head leaning against his hand, “Now, down to business Keith.” Keith felt an oppressive energy begin to build, pressing down on them, “Tell me, what does Voltron mean to you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am now that weird chick in the lunchroom who stays for 2 hrs tapping away on her phone :/  
> Don't forget to leave a kudos, comment, or bookmark!  
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Danger Zone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to college, updates will be on Tuesday and Thursday! Sorry if this chapter doesn't live up to all your expectations, it was a...chaotic weekend.  
> (Tony if you're reading this, fuck you :))

If there was one thing Lance liked, it was knowing something. Not like, knowing what two to the power of x was, or how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

No, Lance like knowing that the sun would rise every morning, that at night the stars would shine, that grass was green, the sky was blue, that garlic knots were amazing.

He felt assured knowing that certain things were a certain way, and that's how they would stay.

For instance, take Keith,  he was moody, he was grumpy, and he was awkward. But most of all, he and Lance didn't get along.

Lance liked knowing that things would stay that way, but now…

“Lance!” Keith called, “Which lion is yours?”

Lance groaned, it felt awkward and uncomfortable dealing with this new Keith. A Keith who was bubbly and excited, and had a strange obsession with Lance.

Lance walked over, slouching, he then pointed out the Red Lion, “This one's mine, he's the right arm when we form Voltron.”

“That's so cool!” gushed Keith, “I can't believe that Voltron here is a giant robot!”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Yes,” he replied blandly, “Fantastic.”

Keith frowned, concern swimming in his eyes, “Lance, are you ok?”

“I'm fine,” Lance snapped.

Keith gave Lance a small smile, “My Lance makes the same face you do when he's upset, so no lying, you can tell me what's wrong you know.”

Lance scowled, “Don't pretend you know me because you don't. You aren't my friend, you're just a poor copy of the Keith I know, so back off!”

Keith winced, and for a moment,  Lance felt bad for the guy. It wasn't his fault that they were in this mess.

“You're right,” Keith said slowly, “I guess I don't really know you. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

Lance's anger built, “Will you stop that?”

“Stop what?”

“Being so nice!” Lance flung his hands in the air, “I just...stop it, please!”

Keith looked confused, “Stop...being...nice to you?”

“Yes! The Keith I know doesn't hug me, doesn't kiss me, and he sure as hell doesn't apologise to me. I always knew where I stood with him, and then you came along and you're so...so…” Lance choked back tears, “ _ Nice _ , and now I don't know what to do.”

Keith looked horrified, “You and...you mean you guys...oh no.”

“What ‘Oh no’?”

Keith smiled at Lance, his eyes sad, “In my universe, Lance and I have a very different relationship. I fear I may have assumed that you and your Keith had the same kind of thing, or something close to it.”

Now it was Lance's turn to look confused, “What kind of relationship did you and...Lance, have?”

“Friends with benefits.” Keith deadpanned.

Lance choked on his spit, “What?!”

Keith smirked, “That benefit being this,” he raised his left hand revealing a small, golden band, encrusted with glittering swirls of  tiny red and blue jewels.

Lance paled, “Oh my gosh, I'm a sugar daddy in the other universe, aren't I?”

Keith frowned, “What, no-"

Lance began to panic, “I don't know what you expected from me, but I'll have you know I am  _ not _ into that kinda stuff and-"

“Lance!” Keith interrupted, looking like he was trying not to laugh, “I was only trying to joke with you. Lance, in my universe, is my  _ fiance _ .”

Lance's face fell flat, “What the fuck.”

Keith chuckled, “Sorry to scare you bud, Lance always told me my jokes don't normally make sense,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “Guess he was right.”

Lance smiled at that, at least one thing was consistent amongst the Keith's, their terrible sense of humor. That was something Lance could always rely on.

It was then that the full effect of what Keith said hit, and Lance's smile fell as he began blushing furiously, “I was your  _ what _ ?”

Keith started laughing.

***

“Tell me, what does Voltron mean to you?”

Keith sat there in stunned confusion for a moment before answering, “I'm surprised you guys have Voltron too, considering it was a warship built by aliens in my universe.”

Now it was Lance's turn to look confused, “Right, so, obviously it's something completely different where you're from.”

Keith raised an eyebrow, “What's Voltron to you?”

Lance sighed, “Keith, what I'm about to tell you is very important, and very dangerous. I need you to listen carefully, and answer truthfully. If you don't, we'll go back, and you'll forget this ever happened.”

“How on earth am I supposed to forget you saying something like that?”

Lance smirked, “We have our ways.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Let's hope you don't find out.”

Keith folded his arms and leaned back grumpily into the soft bench of the table. “So, what is so dangerous to talk about, you needed to get me away from Coran?”

Lance's face grew serious, and damn that was a good look for him. Keith scolded his heart for beating so fast.

“Keith, how much do trust Altea?”

Keith shrugged, “I mean, everyone I've met so far are people I trust in my universe, so...Why? Should I not?”

A shadow passed over Lance's face, “How much would you trust them if I told you they killed my sister, Veronica?”

Keith froze, “What.”

Lance nodded, sullenly, “It all started when Veronica and I were placed on a team of computer engineers, working to build some kind of weapon for the military. The head of Altea wanted us to test it out early, Veronica said it was bad idea,” Lance's eyes darkened, and the blue in them was no longer a friendly ocean, but a dark stormy one, “Lotor ignored her, the test run went...south...and Veronica was lost. Lotor blamed it on her in all the articles, said Veronica sabotaged the project, but I knew better. Lotor was to blame, if he hadn't-" Lance clenched his fists tightly, eyes flashing like lightning, “If that slimy bastard hadn't ignored her warnings, she might still be here today.”

Keith frowned, “Seems we both have that freak of nature in common.”

“You have a Lotor too?”

Keith nodded, “In my universe, he's part of a violent alien race known as the Galra, he became obsessed with knowledge and power there too, we fought,” Keith smiled grimly, “Needless to say, he's no longer a problem.”

“Wish it was that way here, that's why I started Voltron, it's a group of people who also don't trust Lotor and Altea. We work within the shadows, keeping information that could change the world away from his grasp. Who knows what that bastard would do with some of the things we've managed to gather over the years,” he gazed up at Keith sadly, “My Keith is a part of Voltron, his code name was Red Lion, he was-is, my right hand man. I need him back.”

“I understand,” Keith agreed, “In my universe, Voltron is an alien warship, made up of five mechanical lions that can join together to create a mecha robot. I'm the leader of the group, the Black Paladin, flying the Black Lion. I need to get home too, they need me.”

Lance sighed, “And therein lies our new problem.”

“What do you mean?”

Lance stared into Keith's eyes, “Kid, everyone in Altea knows by now you're part alien, and probably know things about alien war techniques or weaponry.”

“So?”

“They aren't going to let you go home kid,” Keith sucked in a sharp breath of air, “You've become their new favorite project.”

***

“Pidge!” Lance screeched, sliding into the computer lab at the speed of light. “I need your help!”

Pidge leapt in surprise, nearly spilling a cup of coffee on her laptop, “God fucking damnit Lance!” she screamed, “You nearly scared the shit out of me!” she turned and glared.

“Ok, first of all, since Shiro isn't here, I'll do it, watch your language Pidgy, second of all  _ I have a fiance _ .”

“Congrats,” Pidge deadpanned, turning back to her laptop, “Who's the lucky lady?”

“No no no, Pidge, in the other universe!” Lance stammered, “It's-he's-KEITH IS MY FIANCE!” He finally shrieked.

That got Pidge's attention, she turned back to him, smirking, “Oh-hoho, reeeaaallly?”

Lance nodded, cheeks the shade of a summer apple, “What do I do?”

Pidge wrinkled her nose, “It's not like he's your fiance in this universe, you don't exactly have to do anything,” she raised an eyebrow mischievously, “Unless...You're actually into Keith?”

“What?!” if Lance's face was red before, it was nothing compared to right now, “What? No! Of course I don-Pidge! I'm not into guys!”

Pidge snorted, “Could have fooled me,” she returned to her work once again, ignoring Lance, who was furiously shouting at Pidge that he was not into guys in the slightest.

Eventually, Lance gave up, leaning over Pidge's shoulder to see what she was doing. “So, what's up with all the squiggly lines?”

Pidge sighed and pushed her glasses up her nose, “They're the readings I gathered from when that black hole appeared, but...now...looking at them closer…” she trailed off, eyes widening.

“What?” Lance asked, “What about them? Pidge, you're scaring me, please answer, even if it's just a swear word.”

“Did you know it's technically impossible to reach the end of a Black Hole?”

Lance froze, thinking, “Huh, I actually forgot about that, it is, isn't it?

Pidge nodded, “Black Holes are all about sucking things in, not spitting them out. Which is why I decided to look further into the matter, because, how on earth did Geith-"

“Hold on, Geith?”

“Geeky Keith, keep up, anyhow, a Black Hole should have meant Keith, the moody one, stayed inside it, forever surfing this black hole. Same goes for Geith, but then, somehow, Geith ended up here, and supposedly Keith made it into his universe.”

“Can we not call him Geith? That name sounds so wrong.”

“Stop interrupting me Lance, anywho, there's a lesser known type of hole, a White Hole, which is constantly spewing mass out, rather than drawing it in. When Geith appeared, the readings I gathered were more like a White Hole, rather than a Black one.”

“How does that work?”

“Well, when you put the two holes together, that's what forms a wormhole, but somehow, the holes seemed to have a gap between them, like a stipulated wormhole.”

“What does that mean?”

Pidge swallowed, “It means, at least, this is my thought process, someone is trying to make a wormhole, and very close to succeeding. It's likely that, somehow, both Keith's got caught up in some kind of experiment probably.”

Her eyes lit up, “That also means we may have a way to get them home!”

“Really?” Lance asked excitedly, “How?”

“If we can find out who's making these semi-wormholes, we can find a way to open up another breach between the universes, and send the Keith's home!”

Lance whooped, “Haha! Let's figure out who!”

That's where Pidge’s face fell, “One problem,”

“Uh oh, what problem?”

Pidge swallowed, “Based on these readings, the original breaches most likely began in Geith’s universe, which means…”

Realization dawned on Lance, “If Keith wants to get back home…”

“He has to figure out what we just figured out, find them, and help them make the breach.” Pidge finished.

Lance groaned, placing his face in his hands, “Keith’s doomed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment, kudos, or bookmark!  
> And thank you to all the fans who sent me fanart! Squeee! They really made my day!  
> You can find the fanart on:  
> Insta: nerdqueen395   
> Tumblr: nerdqueen395   
> Twitter: nerdqueen395   
> (I only have one basic name :/)


	5. Trust Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggplant makes an entrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support and fanart and comments!!!! I squeal every time I get a response to a chapter!  
> I hope you guys like this one, I actually cried making it, I'm so excited!

“Alright sirs, here's your pizza!” Mackenzie returned, carrying a large platter of steaming pizza, topped with mushrooms, olives, peppers, beef, and pepperoni.

Lance smiled at her, flashing his winning grin, “Thanks Mackenzie, this looks almost as amazing as you.”

She blushed, hastily setting everything down, before scurrying off.

Lance turned his attention to the pizza, “Alright Keith, feel free to dig in!” He said, before scooping a large, dripping piece and placing it on his plate.

Keith swallowed the lump in his throat, robotically copying Lance. The normally delicious pizza tasted like cardboard, and was difficult to swallow.

“What do you,” Keith croaked, “What-What do you mean I'm their new project?”

“Shimple, rearry,” Lance said, his mouth full, “Dey fink dat you are worf somfink to dem,” he swallowed, “What with your alien blood, and all those alien secrets in your brain.”

“So what, their plan is to just keep me here forever, hoping to get me to let them in on all the secrets of the universe?”

“Exactly,” Lance said, taking another bite, “N’ don fink you can jush nah shay anyfing, dey haf deyr waysh.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Can you please not talk with your mouthful? I can't understand a word you're saying.”

Lance shrugged, “What? It's called _dual tasking_ , anyway, what I said was don't think you can just not say anything, they have their ways. You'd be spilling all your secrets within a day if they put their mind to it.” Lance frowned, “I learned that the hard way with our Yellow Lion, Hunk.”

“What? What happened?”

“It was a few years back, when they first discovered Voltron, of course, they didn't know who was in it until they discovered Hunk smuggling info from the chemistry department over to us. They kidnapped his girlfriend at the time, Shay, forced him to divulge some secrets,” Lance smirked, a dark gleam in his eyes, “Of course, they weren't able to get all our secrets once I dealt with him.”

Keith's eyes widened, “You didn't kill him, did you?”

“What? No, of course not, I erased his memory of Voltron.”

“How'd you do that?”

“The same way I'll do to you if you refuse my next offer,” he leaned closer and Keith could smell the faint scent of aftershave and piña coladas, “How'd you like to join Voltron? Temporarily, that is. I bet you have some skills that can help us fight back against Altea. In return, I'll put my best men in charge of helping you get back home, do we have a deal?”

Keith stuck out his hand, “How can I say no to something like that?”

Lance smiled, “That's what I thought you'd say,” and he quickly grasped Keith's arm, holding it in place, before whipping out a small gun like machine, and injecting something into Keith.

Keith yanked his arm back, cursing as he saw the small droplets of blood, welling up from the tiny holes the gun had inflicted upon him. “What the fuck was that!” He shouted.

Lance just kept grinning, “Insurance. I just placed a microchip directly into your bloodstream. I programmed it so that with a single push of a button, I can activate it, and it will erase all your memories of Voltron. It's how I kept Hunk safe when he was discovered.”

Keith dabbed the wound with a napkin, “Could’ve warned me you know,” he grumbled.

Lance shrugged, “I've heard it hurts less if you don't know it's coming. Now, hurry up and eat your pizza, I didn't get all this just for me.”

Keith obliged, and began eating again, this time he could actually taste the savory, cheesy flavor of the pizza.

For a moment, Keith actually felt at peace, until Blondies ‘Call Me’ started playing.

Lance answered his phone, “What's up Coran?”

Keith watched as Lance's face went from neutral, to concerned, to panicked, to angry, then back to neutral. Lance nodded, “Understood sir, we'll be over there soon.” he hung up.

“What's going on?” Keith asked, suspicion already growing in his mind.

Lance frowned, “We need to get back to Altea,” he said grimly, “Lotor found out about you, and he wants to meet you.”

***

Lance watched as Keith paced the floor, muttering under his breath. He had been like this ever since Pidge had shared her theory.

“Someone is building a wormhole? Is that even possible?” He had asked.

Pidge had nodded, “Yup and yup, Alteans discovered how to travel by wormhole more than 10,000 years ago, and it seems someone in your universe is discovering the secret to them as we speak. Any idea who it could be?”

Keith frowned, “No clue, as far as I know, no one in Voltron or Altea has made any kind of discovery in the field yet.”

At that time, Lance had interrupted, “Ok, you've referenced Altea and Voltron several times now, but I'm still confused as to what they are?”

Keith had explained how Altea was a research company, dedicated to ‘creating a better world’,  however, it's leader, Lotor (Lance sneered, “Guess both universes have that creepy eggplant in common.”), had corrupted the company, working on mostly military weapons in various fields of science. Lance had created Voltron, a rebel group, to stop Lotor from coming into contact with information deemed too dangerous for the power hungry leader. Each member of Voltron went by a code name, Lance was Blue Lion, Keith was Red Lion, Shiro was Black Lion, Hunk used to be the Yellow Lion, and Matt was Green Lion.

Both Pidge and Lance had had questions about that.

“What do you mean, ‘Hunk used to be the Yellow Lion’?”

Keith sighed, “Hunk was discovered, Lance was forced to wipe Hunk’s memories of Voltron so as to keep us safe.”

“And what about Matt being the Green Lion?” Pidge had asked, “How come he gets to be a part of Voltron and I don't?”

Keith shrugged, “Katie was always just too young for our group, I think she's about 19 right now, she's on her Junior year of college, like I said, she's not dumb, it's just...Matt was always the genius of the family. Katie doesn't know about Matt being a part of Voltron. We all swore to keep it a secret from family and loved one's, Shiro wasn't too happy about keeping it a secret from Adam, but he understood the ramifications of it all. We all do.”

Pidge had frozen at that, while Lance just looked confused, “Who's Adam?”

Pidge winced, “Adam is...was, Shiro's fiance, before the Kerberos mission. I met him once, he died while we were still out in space, he was shot down by the Galra.”

Keith stared at Pidge in shock, “Adam is dead in this universe?”

Pidge nodded sullenly, “That's why Shiro’s not here right now, he's visiting Adam’s family, and his...grave.”

Lance looked between the two, brow furrowed in concerned sadness, “I had no idea, I mean, I knew Shiro was visiting some loved one's family for the week, but I didn't realize it was his fiance's.”

Pidge nodded, “Yeah, I heard it wasn't a good goodbye either. They ended things when Shiro left for Kerberos, I never found out why though, my dad and Matt never told me.”

Keith looked down, arms crossed, “I can't believe this. Adam and Shiro in my universe are the happiest married couple I've ever met, I can't believe Adam’s dead in this universe. Makes me wonder what else is different.”

Pidge pushed her glasses up her nose, “Considering all the differences we've found so far, probably a lot of things.” she checked the time, “I have to go, I told Veronica what happened and she's gonna help me figure out if there's a way to contact our Keith, let him know what he has to do.”

“Veronica?” Keith thought for a moment, tapping his chin before his eyes grew to the size of saucers, “Veronica?!” He shouted, grabbing hold of Lance's shoulder, “Veronica is here?”

“Uh...yes?” Lance said, removing Keith's hands from his shoulders, “What about that?”

Keith smiled sadly at Lance, “Nothing, don't worry about it.”

Lance seriously doubted it was nothing, but if Keith wanted to keep his secrets, fine. Lance had left shortly after that, and had returned to find Keith muttering about “Quantum theory” and other space mumbo jumbo, pacing the floor.

“You know, you're gonna wear a hole into the floor with all that walking back and forth.” Lance commented, leaning against the doorway.

Keith looked up, “Oh, hey Lance, what's up?”

Lance walked over, “Came to let you know it's dinner time, the Garrison cafeteria might not be as good as Hunk's cooking, but it's pretty good. Tonight’s walking tacos.”

Keith nodded, “Where is Hunk anyway?”

Lance smiled, “Hunk's family was captured by the Galra until a few weeks ago, as soon as he was released from the hospital, he and his family left for a mini vacation to Samoa, he'll be back sometime later this week.”

“That's nice, I'm glad he's doing ok.”

“Yeah,” Lance said, “The man needed needed it, now c'mon, before they run out of pudding.”

Keith straightened, grinning, “Any tapioca?”

“A man after my own tastes I see!” Lance replied, throwing his arm over the man’s shoulders, “Man do I wish they had it, but no, just chocolate and vanilla.”

“That’s disappointing.”

Lance nodded fervently, “Right? They really need to widen their horizons.”

“They truly do,’ Keith gave Lance a soft smile.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lance asked nervously, “Please don’t tell me you’re falling for me,” He chuckled.

“It’s nothing,” Keith said, “Just...It’s nice, seeing you happy. It’s almost like seeing my Lance happy again.” He had a sad look in his eyes. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Lance look that carefree.”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked, although he was unsure he wanted to know the answer. “Wait a minute...is this about Veronica? You seemed surprised to hear about her before, is she…?”

Keith sighed, “Yeah, she died a few years ago in a lab accident, after that, Lance stopped trusting Altea. It’s why he formed Voltron in the first place. Of course, it didn’t help that his family never bothered to talk to him after that. They blamed him for it all, said it was his fault for coming to America with Veronica, if he hadn’t, she might still be alive. I think he blamed them for never being supportive or something, I’m not sure. But he hasn’t had contact with them in about, oh...four years?”

Lance’s face fell even further, “I can’t believe this, I mean, I could barely handle being away from my family for just over a year.”

Keith nodded, “It’s nice to know that at least in this universe, you still have your family. I hope that someday, my Lance and his family can finally get along, I know he misses them. He talks about them in his sleep.”

Lance looked shocked for a moment, “Oh man, I totally forgot that the me in your universe is dating you. Guess it would make sense for you guys to be living together.”

“Yup, Lance and I have a nice apartment together, along with our little Pomeranian, Kosmo.”

Lance laughed, “Ha! You have a Kosmo here too you know.”

“I do?”

“Yup,” Lance nodded, “Except in this universe he’s a teleporting space wolf.”

“Oh, neat.” Keith seemed calm, but Lance could tell he was secretly freaking out on the inside.

Lance grinned, he wondered if the emo Keith was this big of a dork as well. He hoped so, it would be kinda cute to see his Keith as excited as this one at the prospect of aliens and alien dogs.

“I only have one question for you,” Lance asked.

“What is that?”

“Am I good in bed?” Lance smirked, but instead of getting the flustered Keith he was expecting, Keith just gave him the sexiest smile he had ever seen.

“You have no idea,” Keith said.

Lance found himself stuck a blushing, stammering mess, before finally deciding to keep his mouth closed.

Keith began to walk out the door, waving for Lance to follow, “C'mon hotshot, by now the pudding’s probably all gone!”

And Lance followed Keith towards the cafeteria, blushing, and definitely _not_ staring at Keith's butt.

Keith and Lance with Kosmo (Artist, Babs)

***

Lance dropped Keith outside Lotor’s office, “Be careful,” he warned, “That snake is tricky, he'll do whatever takes to weasel information out of you.” He gave Keith a soft smile, “Take care,  Keith, I'll be waiting outside for you when you're done.”

Keith took a deep breath, nodding before knocking on the large heavy door.

“Come in, come in, Keith!” He heard from inside, “I've been waiting for you!.”

Keith slowly opened the door, leaving Lance behind, and walking into the lion's den. No, not a lion's den, lion's were cool, this was more like walking into a tar pit.

Hot, evil, sticky, and dangerous.

As soon as he saw Lotor, Keith didn't know how to react. It was one thing for Lotor to no longer be purple, instead, his skin was a smooth, olive tone. But, it was a completely different thing for Lotor’s luscious white locks to be replaced by, well, nothing.

The man was as bald as could be, save for a small black goatee on his chin. Was it rude to stare at a bald head? Keith didn't know, but he tried not to anyway, it was just so...shiny.

Unlike the other scientists, who wore t-shirts or sweaters, with a white and teal lab coat, sporting a name tag and the large capital A, circled by a golden star; Lotor was dressed in neat, all black business attire, with pale lilac accents. He even had a purple tissue sticking out of his front breast pocket. Keith had always wondered what those were for, no one even seemed to ever use them so why put them there?

“So,” Lotor drawled in his smooth accent, “This is the alternate, half alien Keith I've heard so much about.” He stuck his hand out, giving Keith a smile that would have fooled him, if it weren't for the fact that Keith knew this man was bad trouble. “A pleasure to meet you, Keith, please, call me Lotor!”

Keith unwillingly shook the man's hand, promising to wash his as soon as he could, “The pleasure’s all mine,” Keith responded, trying to keep his voice neutral.

Lotor gestured to a small china teacup, decorated with violets, sitting next to an identical teapot. “Please,” Lotor said, “Have some, it's tienchi tea, very good for the body and soul. I had it imported from China!”

“No thanks,” Keith responded, “I'm not much of a tea drinker.”

“Please, Keith,” Lotor smiled, but his eyes become as hard as iron, “Drink.”

Keith reluctantly poured a cup and proceeded to take little sips of the bitter drink, realizing that Lotor might not let him go until he did.

“So Keith, I hear you're looking for a way back home?”

Keith nodded hesitantly, “Yes sir, that's correct.”

Lotor laughed, “Dear Keith, please, I asked you to call me Lotor! We're all good friends here at Altea, trust me, this isn't Galran Tech, unlike my father, I believe that leaders and followers should stand as equals, become friends.”

Keith felt a knot in his stomach, “Er, sorry... _Lotor_ ,” he tried not to make the name sound like a curse.

“That's better!” Lotor said, eyes twinkling, “Now, no need to fear, I have some of my best scientists working on a way to get you back home. But while you're here,” he smiled at Keith, “I was hoping you could tell me a little bit about your universe?”

Keith froze, “Um, there's not much to say, really, it's...a lot like this one. Actually, it's really primitive compared to what you guys have here!” Keith tries to smile and chuckle, but it all fell flat.

By now, Lotor was smiling so wide, his eyes had become almost like a snakes, narrow, and gleaming with trouble. “It appears what I feared came to pass, Lance has gotten to you, hasn't he?”

The blood in Keith's veins ran cold, “What-" he swallowed, “What do you mean by that?”

“Please,” Lotor waved a hand dismissively, “I've known for quite some time Lance was the leader of Voltron, it was such fun watching him and his little gang scurry about, trying to stop me. I was going to let them continue doing what they were doing since they weren't actually causing any harm, of course,” he smirked, “That all changed when I heard about you, and how Lance had already spoken to you. He's told you nasty little lies about me, hasn't he? I swear they aren't true, I really am a nice guy, Lance is just a little...biased.”

Keith grew angry, “You killed Veronica!” He shouted, “You kidnapped Shay and used her against Hunk!”

“Now, now, Veronica brought her death upon herself, perhaps if she hadn't built a faulty device, she might still be with us! As for Shay, I never kidnapped her, I only convinced her to stay in a locked office for a short while, poor Hunk just couldn't tell the difference!”

“You know, there's one big difference between my universe and this one, in my universe? You're dead. And my team is the one responsible for ridding the galaxy of a messed up, son of a bitch like you, whose only goal in life is to climb the tower of success, consequences be damned.”

Lotor’s smile fell, “I was going to give you another chance, but I see you won't be taking it.” He pulled out a walkie talkie, “Axca, you are a go, detain Lance.”

“What?” Keith spun around, racing towards the door, only to find it locked. He began banging his fists upon the hard wood, “Lance! Lance!” He shouted.

Lotor chuckled, “He can't hear you you know,” Keith began to feel dizzy, tired. Everything was beginning to blur into one big mess of black and lilac. Horror dawned on Keith as he realized Lotor had drugged him, and Keith had stupidly fallen for it. No wonder Lotor had been so insistent on Keith drinking that tea, he probably had foreseen this outcome and thought ahead. “And don't worry,” Lotor said walking over to Keith, “You'll be joining Lance very soon.”

Keith fell to the ground, “Lance…” he whispered, and last thing he saw was Lotor’s grin, right before the darkness claimed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUUUN  
> Bet y'all weren't expecting a bald Lotwhore huh? Hat happened to Hunk after he forgot Voltron? What will shiro think when he finds out what happened to Keith? How did Lotor find them? What's going to happen to Keith and Lance? Is the Lance we all know and love beginning to develop feelings?????  
> Find out next week!  
> Don't forget to leave a kudos, comment, or bookmark!  
> Find me on:  
> Twiiter: nerdqueen395  
> Insta: nerdqueen395  
> Tumblr: nerdqueen395


	6. Watch Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIIIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEEEE  
> Stay tuned for the entire chapter to find out where I've been, and for a bonus scene!

By the time Lance and Keith reached the cafeteria, not only was there no more pudding cups, but the stale cookies served as a backup were also gone.

“Aw man, “ Lance complained, dejectedly picking up his walking taco, and loading it with extra cheese, peppers, lettuce, and sour cream.

Keith, Lance discovered, was a bit more of a picky eater, and chose to stick to only meat and Doritios.

Lance raised an eyebrow at this, “Wow, you must be a very vanilla person, huh?”

“Everywhere but in the bedroom,” Keith deadpanned, winking at Lance when he began to blush furiously.

Across the room, Pidge called them over, and Keith happily skipped over, Lance following close behind and muttering under his breath. “Stupid Keith, stupid black hole, stupid comebacks,  _ es muy estupído, guapo idíota… _ ”

Keith, unfortunately, heard Lance's last comment and threw a grin towards him, “ _ Sí, yo soy muy guapo. ¡Tú también muy guapo idíota!” _

Lance almost dropped his food, pausing in the middle of the room, “You know Spanish?!” He shrieked, catching the attention of the many people who had been peacefully enjoying dinner till then. Once they saw it was lance, however, they rolled their eyes and continued eating.

“¡ _ Andale! ¡Andale! _ ” Keith laughed, “I'm starving!”

Lance pursed his lips and hurried after, sitting down next to Pidge, Veronica was also at the table, and Keith nervously sat down next to her, throwing her the occasional smile.

It really was hard to believe that Veronica was dead in the universe. Lance could only imagine how the alternate him felt. How many nights had Lance spent on the castle, waking up in a cold sweat, nightmare after nightmare of his family dying, or already dead?

Sure, when Lance got to earth it wasn't quite the reunion he'd hoped for, but everyone was alive and well. They weren't safe, obviously, but they weren't hurt either.

Lance was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Veronica speaking to him until she snapped her fingers under his nose. Lance shot up like a rocket, blushing when he noticed everyone looking at him.

“Hey Lance, are you ok ¿ _ hermano? _ ” Veronica asked.

“I'm fine,” Lance assured her, Veronica had been a little protective and overbearing once the war on earth had finished, after all, believing your brother had died multiple times (Lance never told her about the time he actually  _ had  _ died, that was a secret he as taking to his grave) could do that to a person.

Veronica knot her brows, “Are you sure? If you have anything you want to talk about, specifically Paladin stuff, you know you can talk to me, after all, we did promise not to withhold any universe changing details.”

Lance shook his head, “Nah, don't worry, I was just thinking about random stuff, for instance,” Lance smirked, “Haven't you ever wondered about those people that like the taste of blood because of an iron deficiency? Couldn't they be classified as vampires? Could vampires just have an iron deficiency?”

Pidge rolled her eyes, “As fascinating as that sounds, no, really, I'd actually like to talk about it another time, right now we're discussing ways to contact Geith’s universe.”

“Gieth?” Keith asked.

Lance raised an eyebrow, “I already told you Pidge, it's never gonna catch on, only like, one person mentioned it in the comments section.”

“What?” Keith looked thoroughly confused now.

Pidge waved her hand absentmindedly, “Just ignore him, he's being a dickwad.”

Keith narrowed his eyes at her, “Language, Katie.”

“I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say that, anyway, Veronica and I have been working on something that might help us contact the other universe...however…” Pidge looked hesitant, “It would be an open line, anyone with the right technology could answer it, we don't know who'd pick up.”

Keith frowned, “That's not good, we can't do it, not if we run the risk of Lotor answering.”

“Not just Lotor,” Veronica pointed out, “But governments, other science organizations, just about anyone who's smart enough and has the tech can answer us.”

“Well,” Lance said, “What if we just ask a question only someone Keith trusts would be able to answer, and if they get it wrong, we hang up.”

Pidge thought for a moment, “That could work, but then again, how many calls would it take to reach someone Geith trusts?”

“We should only risk one call,” Keith said, “Any more and we'd be asking for trouble.”

Veronica nodded, “I agree with Geith,”

Lance groaned, “Not you too…”

“Too many calls could call this operation to attention, attention we don't need.”

“So we just gotta hope we reach the right person on the first call…” Pidge sighed, “It's almost not worth it.”

“But if we reach the right person, think if the good we could do!” Lance said, ever the optimist, “This whole fiasco could be sorted out before you could say quiznack.”

“Quiznack?” Keith frowned.

“Alien swear word,” Lance replied, “Just think fuck but alien like.”

“Language,” Veronica said, and Lance flipped her off.

Pidge stared at Lance, “Now you know how it feels,” she deadpanned.

Lance rolled his eyes, “Pidge, I'm 18, I am allowed to swear, you're like, 13 or something.”

Pidge glared, “15, and an IQ higher than nearly everybody in this building, so shut the fuck up.”

“Pidge!” Veronica, Lance, and Keith shouted at the same time.

Pidge folded her arms and slumped in her seat, “Damnit.”

***

Keith awoke to soft fingers brushing through his hair, and he shuddered at the gentle touch, sighing in content. He wished he hadn't though because the fingers stopped.

A low chuckled rumbled through Keith, who lifted his head to find he had been lying on Lance's lap. “Morning sleeping beauty,” Lance whispered, “How do you feel?”

Keith groaned, slowly growing used to the dim lighting, “Like shit, where are we?” they were in some sort of small, cramped room, with a single bed and a bucket in the corner. No windows, the only light filtering in from a small crack under a heavy metal door.

Lance snorted, “A dungeon, because where else would Lotor keep his prisoners in this modern world on the verge of the 22nd century.”

“Prisoner?” Suddenly, everything came rushing back to Keith, along with a wave of pain and nausea, he gagged, clutching his head and curling up.

A warm hand rubbed his back, “Easy there kid, try to keep it in, I'd rather not have to deal with the smell right now.”

“Lotor, he-” Keith swallowed back bitter bile, “Poison-tea. I heard him talking about you, I tried to warn you, he-” Keith turned to face Lance, “Are you ok?”

Lance chuckled, “I'm fine, “ But Keith glared at him as he took in the full view of Lance. Bruises and cuts littered his face and body, and what looked like dried blood drained the area beneath his nose and mouth. Lance noticed the look Keith was giving him and rolled his eyes, “I promise, it'll take more than a bloody nose to bring me down. I'm more worried about you, we don't know what kind of poison Lotor used and you've been out for quite a while.”

“Know...how long?” Keith asked weakly.

Lance shrugged, “Not exactly, I know i was out for a while, and even after I woke up you were out for hours more. It must have been pretty strong, I'm surprised Lotor would use something that could hurt you like this.”

Keith shrugged, even that small motion sending waves of sickness through him. “It might not have been his intention, my body doesn't exactly work like a normal humans.”

“True,” Lance replied. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

“So,” Keith said, breaking the silence, “What's the plan now?”

“Hopefully Matt will find out about us being missing, he might try to find us.”

Keith's heart sunk, “Actually,” Keith said, “Lotor told me he knew all about Voltron and who's in it, Matt and Shiro are probably being monitored right now.”

“Shit,” Lance swore, “Hunk must have revealed more about Voltron than we thought. “

Keith's blood ran cold, “How much do you think he told them?”

Lance rubbed the notch above his brows, “Im not sure, but this is really not good, I have no idea what we're going to do now that we've been uncovered. Years of working against Lotor and he's known about us this entire time.”

“Um…” Keith patted Lance on the shoulder, “It'll be okay?” He tried, Keith had never been good at comforting others.

Lance laughed, “You suck at this you know.”

Keith nodded, smiling softly, “I know,” his smile fell, “What do you think Lotor plans to do with us now?”

“Well, he probably plans to just mess with me, I don't know why he'd keep me around as for you…” Lance hesitated, “Keith, try not to freak out, but Lotor, he…”

“He plans to experiment on me, doesn't he?”

Lance nodded sullenly, “You're about to become his greatest research project,” his eyes hardened, “He made the mistake of putting you with me though, he'll have to kill me if he thinks he's getting to you.”

Keith froze, “No-don't-”

“If you think I'm letting him take you, you're wrong, you might not be the Keith I know, but you're some Lances Keith, and I'm certain he'd die before letting you get hurt, right?”

Keith opened his mouth, prepared to say no, but stopped as he thought about Lance, the Lance he knew. A Lance who was a goofball, who flirted with everyone they met, who was so smart but so stupid at the same time, who was always there for the team when they needed support, who'd stayed by Keith, acting as if nothing had changed after Keith's Galra roots were discovered. A Lance who came to Keith with all his insecurities, his right hand man, who constantly threw himself in harm's way for others, who had been blown up, shot, handcuffed, threatened, who actually  _ had  _ died to save his friends.

Keith lowered his head, hiding the tears that had cropped up, “Yeah,” He croaked, “He would,” he lifted his gaze back up to Lance, “But I'd never let him.”

“Keith-” Lance began, but froze and spun towards the door when they heard a loud clang. Both struck defensive poses as the door swung open, revealing Lotor, smiling and pointing a gun straight at Lance's head.

“Hand the freak over, or I shoot,” Lotor said, his grin widening, “I'm in an awfully good mood right now and I'd hate to spoil my day by getting blood on my hands.”

Lance moved to cover Keith, growling like a caged beast, “Don't you dare touch him,” he hissed at Lotor.

Keith grabbed Lance's arm, holding him back, before glaring into Lotor's cold eyes, “I'll come with you, don't hurt him.”

“Keith!” Lance barked, “Don't do this!”

Keith took a deep breath, before pulling on Lance's arm, sweeping the leg and flipping Lance onto his back. Luckily he caught the older man off guard or that probably wouldn't have worked.

He walked calmly over to Lotor, Lance scrambling to his feet, fury and shock radiating like a storm from his ocean eyes.

Lotor put the safety on and tucked the gun neatly away, “Perfect,” he said, winking at Lance, “Don't worry, I'll bring him back,” his grin turned evil as an aura of darkness gathered around him, “Although I can't guarantee what condition he'll be in.” Keith shuddered, and began to wonder if this was a bad idea. But he couldn't back out now.

He watched as Lance shot towards the door, Keith's name on his lips, only to be stopped as Lotor slammed the door shut, gripping Keith's arm hard.

“Well,” Lotor said, “Are you ready, little alien boy?”

***

Lance lay in the bed he'd first been given back when he'd joined the Garrison, staring up at the glowing stars he'd stuck there almost...10 years ago. Lance couldn't believe it had been that long, how much he had changed since then.

He rolled over on his side, careful not to disturb the blue hydration mud mask he'd put on.

He began to wonder how things might have been different if his Keith were here, if Pidge or him had ended up in that other universe.

Would Keith have tried as hard as Lance was to find him? Lance shook his head and rolled over to his other side, of course Keith would. They were a team. Ever since Keith and him had been launched into space, their relationship had taken a turn for the better. Lance trusted Keith with his life.

And he'd get him back.

With a new found confidence and will to bring back Keith, Lance got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom to rinse off the now dry mask; only to find someone already in there.

Standing in front of the large mirror stood a shirtless Keith, brushing his teeth, as soon as he noticed Lance he winked and spat into the sink before rinsing his mouth out. “Hey there kid, what’s up?”

Lance blushed, averting his eyes and scowling, “I’m not a kid,” He argued weakly, sighing, his head drooping, he glanced back over at Keith, “Do you...Do you miss Lance? Your Lance, that is.”

Keith gave Lance a small smile, “Of course I do, I already told you, didn’t I? Lance and I are engaged, if I didn’t miss him, I’d have to rethink what I’ve been doing my whole life.” He joked.

Lance chuckled softly, “Yeah,” he smiled back up at Keith, “I’m going to get our Keith back, and I’m going to get you back to other me. I swear.”

Keith walked over and placed a soft comforting hand on Lance’s shoulder, and Lance briefly remembered his own Keith doing the same gesture once upon a time. The familiarity made Lance smile wider.

“I believe in you,” Keith said, “If my Lance is anything to go off on, I know that whatever you put your mind to, you can accomplish.” 

“You really think that?”

Keith nodded, “I know so,it’s why I fell in love with you.” He smirked, “That, and your excellent looks.”

Lance blushed again as Keith walked out of the bathroom,  _ I wonder if my Keith thinks I look good too,  _ he idly wondered, turing on the sink to rinse the mask off.

***

Sitting in a dark room, a small figure stares at one of the multiple computer screens surrounding them. On it, can be seen an image of two other people, locked in a cell.

“I can’t believe Lotor has a dungeon,” they mutter under their breath, “What an outdated freak.”

They sigh deeply, “Guess I’d better get them out, huh?” They said, glancing at another screen, showing an image of Keith, beside him was data the person had gathered after hacking Altea, “After all,” They smiled grimly, “It is kind of my fault they swapped places.”

***

“Hello!” A small, auburn haired girl pops into view, “The name is Pidge, you probably know who I am.” She struck a heroic pose, “After all, I am kind of the mascot of this fandom.”

“Stick to the script Pidge!” Groans Shiro from off stage.

Pidge rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah,” she called back, before turning her gaze back forward.

“Now, if you’re a frequent fanfiction reader, with a penchant for the gay stuff, you may be wondering to yourself, ‘Where the hell is the author? What the fuck has she been doing all this time?’ Well, wonder no longer, dear reader, behold!”” Pidge steps aside and pulls down a curtain, revealing a small figure, wrapped in a month old hoodie, lying on the kitchen floor, snacking on toffee peanuts and listening to Somebody to Love, 10 hr version. Under her breath she mumbles, “Group project, speech, presentation, playoffs, tendonitis, social life,” on an endless loop.

Pidge shakes her head, “What a sad sad creature, turns out, college is way more difficult than she thought, not to mention work, volleyball championships, scheduling doctor appointments and physical therapy, and her social life, which her parents tell her she doesn’t have, Apparently going to see Venom late night showings  3 times with the same friend and going to parties where she gets hit on by homeless men don’t count.”

“Anyway, as you can see, the author has been very busy and apologises for her absence, she hasn’t died, but she hasn’t given up hope yet either. She’s still working on her story, it’s just taking longer to complete chapters than she thought, but hopefully with the upcoming breaks she has, she’ll be able to keep it up.”

Pidge flashes a large smile, “So don’t give up hope yet! After all, there’s still so much more story to tell! What will happen to Keith? Will Lance finally realize his feelings? What’s going to happen with Shiro and Hunk? Where the fuck am I in this weird new universe? Who’s the mysterious figure who seems to know way more than they should? Stay tuned for more gay shipping, I mean plotline!” She finishes off with a bow and a wink, before the screen goes black. It flashes once, twice, before blinking back to life, revealing Keith, drooping in a lab chair, handcuffed to the arm rests.

A doctor in a lab coat approaches with a glowing needle, smiling sadistically, “Oh, I do hope this is the universe you survive,” He whispers, placing the needle against Keith’s arm, and slowly injecting the liquid into his bloodstream.

“After all,” He says, “Quintessence is a very strange chemical.”


	7. Prison Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the whole chapter for intermission and extra scene!

Keith watched in fear as the glowing needle closed in on his arm, wincing as the sharp end pierced his skin and entered his body. Slowly, the doctor began to inject the glowing liquid into his arm. What had he called it? Quintessence.

_Shit._

Keith didn't know exactly what quintessence was in this universe, bute he knew it couldn’t be anything good. He threw his head back, biting his tongue as a burning feeling began to wash over his body. He bit back cries till he tasted blood and salt, as tears ran down his face and dripped into his mouth.He could hear the doctor’s maniacal laughing over the screeching in his ears.

It felt like being burned alive, skin peeling from the inside out, leaving behind an empty, black shell. All he wanted was for it to either consume him completely, or vanish. The line between the two blurring into one word. _Stop._

 _Stop it, stop it, stop it._ He cried, voicelessly, refusing to grant the psychopath doing this the pleasure of hearing his voice.

Slowly, the pain faded away, leaving Keith limp as his head drooped down on his chest. “Fascinating,” The doctor said, “There was only a .002% chance of this kind of reaction in this universe!” The doctor gave Keith a sly grin, “Of course, you aren’t exactly from this universe, are you?” The doctor laughed at his own poor joke, shuffling over to his computer before typing in information.

“Who would have imagined the effect quintessence would have on you! I’m glad you survived! Quintessence is a new material our space program only just discovered, all previous experiments of it on regular humans did not...end quite as nicely.” He chuckled again, the Doctor had some kind of accent that Keith couldn’t quite place. But the way he spoke definitely pissed him off.

Keith attempted to open his eyes, catching a glimpse of a thin, balding man, large spectacles perched in a crooked nose. The man slouched, and his white lab coat seemed almost too long on him, dragging on the ground as he shuffled about the brightly lit, white room.

The doctor kept chuckling to himself, “Oh, wait till Lotor hears about this, oh he’s going to be very proud, perhaps I have a 99.764% of getting a promotion!”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, The doctor frowned, “Now who could that be? There’s only a 0.000067% chance Lotor would come without warning.” The knocking came again, harder, and more persistent. “Coming, coming,” The doctor grumbled, waddling over, he opened the door, “What do you-” Keith couldn’t see who was at the door, but watched as the doctor stiffened, “You?’ He sounded confused, “What are you doing he-” At that point, Keith heard a loud whack, and watched as the doctor collapsed on the ground. A large fist stood where his head had been, before dropping to the side of a large, imposing man.

“Man, that felt good!” Shiro exclaimed, grinning at Keith, “I always hated Slav, too annoying, overthinks things.” He walked over and began undoing Keith’s bonds, “Now, ready to get out of here?”

***

_30 Minutes Earlier, Lotor’s Weird Ass Dungeon_

Lance stared at the door, as if he could burn a hole through it. Somewhere else in the building, Keith was having god-knows-what done to him, and Lance was stuck here, in a piss ass dungeon, a full bladder, and nothing but a small pail in the corner. Lance hadn’t felt this hopeless since...well, since Verronica died. He didn’t like the feeling.

He was supposed to protect Keith, Keith who couldn’t fight, Keith who was scared of spiders and needles. Instead, he’d watched as a Keith he knew nothing about, stood up and “No way in hell”, allowing himself to be taken, to be harmed. All to protect Lance.

“Damnit!” He swore, slamming his fists against the large, metal door, leaving not a scratch, and a pulsing pain running through his hands.

 **“Language,”** A bodiless voice chuckled, **“What has that door ever done to you?”** the voice seemed warp, deep and high pitched at the same time.

“Who’s there?!” Lance shouted, “Lotor I swear if that’s you…”

The strange voice chuckled again, **“Not Lotor, call me...a friend. The name is Piccione, I’m here to help. Give the door a push, you’ll find it’s unlocked. All the cameras are on a loop, your only barrier being the guards. Cells 128 and 132 contain your friends, Matt and Shiro, just follow the trail of flickering lights.”**

“Why the hell is there 132 cells?”

**“Who knows, Lotor is a creep. Once you have them, I’ll lead you to Lab 007, there, you will find Keith.”**

“How do I know I can trust you?” Lance asked.

 **“Because,”** Piccione answered, **“I’m the only hope you have,”** Piccione sounded smug at this observation.

“Fair enough,” Lance said, “And how do I get out of here once I have everyone?”

**“I’ve unlocked the hangers, know how to pilot a hovercraft?”**

Lance smiled, “Nope, but I always wanted to, guess I’ll cross that off the bucket list.”

**“Good to see you still have your sense of humor, Lance.”**

“One last question,” Lance said.

**“And what might that be?”**

“Do I know you, Piccione?”

 **“You know me the same way you know an actor. I’m close, but far, known, but only the things I wish to be known. You will meet me soon enough, after all, if you want to get your Keith back, you’ll be needing my help. Meet at the garden house, the one owned, but not by those who exist. Good luck.”** Piccione cut out.

“Wait!” Lance shouted, “What do you mean you can get my Keith back, Piccione!” Lance shouted, but they were already gone. “Damnit,” he swore again, turning back to the door and giving it a hesitant push, grinning as it swung open. “Welp, here goes nothing.”

***

_In Another, Less Depressing Cell But Still A Weird Ass One_

“What the hell is going on!” Matt shouted, “Hey! I want to speak with my lawyer, this can’t be legal!”

A guard banged on the door, “Shut up in there carrot top!”

Matt gasped, affronted, “Now that is just Gingerist, I refuse to answer to such a condescending name!”

The guard banged on the door again, this time harder, “I said shut it!”

“Okay, rude,” Matt mumbled, but shutting it.

The guard turned back to his post, proud he’d managed to shut the loudmouth up. Only to come face to face with a banged up Lance.

“Prisoners these days, always so rude.” Lance winked, before throwing a right hook across the guards face, knocking him to the ground. He leaned down, picking up the key off the guards body, and unlocking the cell. Out leapt Matt, hugging Lance tightly.

“Lance! I knew you wouldn’t leave me here to rot! So, what the hell is going on? One moment I’m looking up porn on my work laptop, the next I’m being thrown in an 18th century prison! I didn’t know using my laptop that way was _that_ illegal!”

Lance pushed Matt off, “Ok, first of all, TMI, second of all,” Lance's expression darkened, “Lotor knew about Voltron this whole time.”

Matt's face fell, “What? But...that means…”

Lance nodded, “I know. Shiro's somewhere down these hallways too, we need to get him, and then Keith.”

Matt saw Lance's eyes flicker dangerously when he mentioned Keith, Matt's friend deepened, and he placed a hand on Lance's shoulder. “Don't worry man, we'll get him back. I'm sure he's fine.”

“He better be,” Lance said darkly, “Or the next time I see Lotor, I'll be putting his head on silver platter.”

Matt swallowed, “Remind me never to get on your bad side. By the way,” he wondered, “How did you escape? And how did you know where to find me?”

Lance pointed at a row of flickering lights, “Some guy name Piccione helped me out.”

Matt tapped his chin, “ _Piccione_ , I swear I've heard that before…”

Before Matt could say anything else, Lance interrupted, “C’mon, we need to get Shiro, I don’t know how long it’ll be until lotor realizes what’s up.”

Matt nodded, following Lance down the path of flickering lights, fighting guards along the way until they reached Shiro’s cell, quickly knocking the guard to the ground and freeing their friend.

“Thanks,” Shiro said, grasping Matt’s hand and pulling him in, in their familiar ‘Bro Hug’.

“Good to see ya Blackie,” Matt said, “Ready to kick ass?”

Shiro smiled, “Always.”

***

_Back In The Creepy Lab_

“Sh-Shiro?” Keith groaned.

“And Matt!” Matt said, popping up behind Shiro, Lance followed soon after, “Oh, and Lance, by the way, uuuhhh…” Matt screwed up his face in disgust, “You’re ah, looking a little purple there man, you doing ok?”

Keith grunted in pain as they released his bonds, and he fell forwards into Lance’s arms. “They gave something, quintessence, they said.”

Lance almost dropped him, “Quintessence?!” He shouted, he began running his hands all over Keith, “ _Mierda_ , I can’t believe they’d use that on a human being! It’s a brand new substance! Adam got it out of the rift after you came out!”

Keith frowned, “We have quintessence where I’m from too, whenever I get in contact with it my galra genes become more prominent, it should fade with time, but I don’t know what’s going to happen exactly since this is the first time it’s been _injected_ instead of used topically.”

“Woah!” Matt exclaimed, running over to Keith, and yanking on the now more feline looking ears, “So this is what aliens look like where you’re from?”

Keith pulled his ear back, “Kinda, like I mentioned before, I’m only like half Galra, actually, it might even be less than half, my mother hasn’t been very forthcoming with all that shit and stuff.”

“Still,” Matt shrugged, “It’s pretty badass.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Enough with the alien chatter, we have to escape this damned place, remember?”

“Oh,” Matt said blushing, “Right.”

Matt, being the more technical genius rather than a fighter, helped Keith walk towards the hanger, Lance and Shiro doing a majority of the fighting. Finally, guns blazing behind them, they reached the hanger, where a lone hovercraft sat, waiting for them.

“Do you actually know how to fly that thing?!” Matt shouted.

“Nope!” Lance responded, hoping into the driver seat, “Now get on!”

“I really hate this!” Matt cried, but still boarding the vehicle, “You’d think in a modern world like this, they’d have put seatbelts on this thing.”

“Better hold on then!” Lance smiled, throwing the hovercraft into action, before speeding away from the hangar.

“I really, really hate this!” Matt shrieked, Shiro just laughing away, and Keith slowly faded from consciousness.

***

“Rise and shine buckaroo!” Pidge shouted, flipping on all the light switches in Lance’s room. Lance shrieked and fell from the bed, groaning as he clutched his ringing head.

“What the hell Pidge?” He grumbled, “What on earth are you doing?”

“Waking you up, Veronica and I think we’ve finally figured out how to contact the other universe, Keith’s waiting for us back in the lab. Now get your fat ass up and get going,” They smirked, “Nice shark undies by the way.”

Lance glanced down, and let out a very unmanly scream as he noticed his state of undress, grabbing his blanket and wrapping it around his body, “Get out, Pidge!”

Pidge laughed, walking out of Lance’s room and shutting the door. “Damn gremlin,” Lance mumbled angrily, searching for clean clothes before finally settling on a simple white shirt with a picture of an avocado with cat ears, above it read, “Avogato”, as well as some dark jeans and a pair of converse. Lance ran a little gel through his hair, styling it. He winked in the mirror and shot finger guns at his reflection, “Looking mighty fine babe,” he said.

Finally, Lance walked down to the lab, anxious about what was going to go down. Either they contacted Keith, or all their planning went down the drain. Lance walked into the room, already feeling the tense atmosphere drip into his skin like syrup.

“Hola muchachos!” Lance shouted, attempting to lighten the mood, “What’s up?”

Pidge and Veronica rolled their eyes at his antics, but Keith looked up, giving Lance a soft smile that made his heart flutter, “Not much, just, ya know, contacting another universe, just an average day in the office.”

Lance laughed, “I can’t believe it, geith has a sense of humor!”

Pidge spun around and pointed an accusing finger at Lance, “See? I told you Geith was gonna catch on!”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah,” He said, “Don’t get your hopes up, most of the readers still haven’t accepted your weird nickname for him.”

“Just you watch,” Pidge said, “It’ll catch on like a wildfire eventually.”

Veronica looked between the two, frowning, “Okay, I have no idea what the hell you two are talking about, but can we focus on our main issue here? Namely, contacting Geith’s universe?”

Lance coughed, “Right, hey Keith, did you ever figure out what you wanted your question to be?”

Keith nodded, “Yup, it’s ‘How did Lance propose to me?’.”

Pidge frowned, “Isn’t that an easy question for anyone who knows you?”

Keith laughed, “Nope, Lance told everyone how he _wanted_ the proposal to go, we never told anyone the true story since it was kind of embarrassing.”

Veronic smiled and leaned forward, placing her chin on her hands, “Oh? Do tell.”

“Well, it all started when Lance tried to take me on a romantic date, hunting Mothman.”

Lance frowned, “Wait, how is that romantic?”

“Because he knew my likes, and top of the list was Mothman. Anyway, he ended up forgetting the tent, so we got stuck in the crappy motel.

“He also planned on going up there during the mothman festival, but he got the date wrong and we missed it. Lance was absolutely devastated about that.” Keith grinned, lost in memory.

“He planned on proposing during our hike, but he slipped and fell in a river. I was completely freaked out when Lance leapt up and started scrambling for something screaming about he ‘lost it’, but he wouldn't tell me what ‘it’ was.

“So, despite his protests, I leapt into the river, searching for whatever he'd lost. Eventually I found a little black box, and when I realized what it was, I tapped Lance on the shoulder, knelt down, and proposed to him with the same ring he'd planned on proposing to me with.”

Veronica burst out laughing, “Oh my gosh, that's fantastic!”

Lance's face reddened, “You're kidding, right?”

Keith shook his head, smiling, “Nope!” he exclaimed, “Lance was so mad he stormed off without a word. I went after him but, he ended up getting lost. By the time I found him the sun had set. As soon as he saw me he ran up with a little ring made of grass, knelt down, and proposed.”

“Oh snap,” Pidge cackled, “This is the best story I've ever heard.”

“He just couldn't let me one up him,” Keith shrugged, “So I said, ‘As long as we get the mothman pizza, I'm cool with anything,’ so we got the mothman pizza, went home, and told everyone Lance proposed to me by a gas station in the rain, just like in The Office.”

“Uuugh,” Lance groaned, “I can't believe other me is such a dork.”

“Yeah…” Keith's smile remained, but his violet eyes began to fade, “Thing is, he's only like that around a few people, people he truly trusts. After the accident...he became angry, depressed. For a while, I didn't think our relationship was going to work, he never hit me or blamed me, but he pushed me away. For three weeks, I didn't know where he was. When he came back, he was...in had shape.

“After that, I took control, Hunk helped me out, so did Shiro and Matt. We set curfews, watched him in turns; Shiro introduced him to a self defense teacher, took up all sorts of fighting classes as a way to vent his anger.”

Veronica gasped, “That's horrible! What exactly happened?”

Keith winced at Veronica's voice, and Lance knew exactly what had happened, he placed a hand on Veronica's shoulder, “I don't think it's something Keith can share.”

“Oh,” Veronica's head dropped and she smiled apologetically up at Keith, “Sorry.”

“It's ok,” Keith said, throwing Lance a grateful nod, “I understand your curiosity he cleared his throat, “So...how about that phone call home?”

Pidge nodded, “It's ready to go when you are.”

Keith's eyes hardened, “Fire it up.”

And without any further words, Pidge flipped the switch.

***

When Keith awoke, he was lying in a large, soft bed, covered in fluffy white sheets, pastel blue patterns painting them in elegant swirls. The walls were white, with hand painted images of forget-me-nots and roses, as well as tastefully hidden drawings of mothman. Early morning light filtered in through large windows, cool air billowing in through waving white curtains, images of red roses stitched on. Beside him was a small wooden nightstand, the wood old and wearing away, but sanded down until light and dark merged together. On top was a glass of water and pain pills, as well as an alarm clock that read 11:15 am.

Keith picked up the pain meds, swallowing them as he drained the cup. Slowly, he pulled the covers off, standing up. He walked over to a mirror, and saw he was dressed in a baggy red T-Shirt, and grey sweatpants. His feet were bare, but the soft carpeting felt good on his toes, so he didn’t mind. He was also pleased to see that the purple, once coating his body, was fading into a pale lilac. All that remained of the quintessence effects was slightly pointed ears, and yellow tinted scleras; and even that was beginning to fade.

Keith began to walk around the room, noticing small details such as dressers and lamps, also fitting the homemade, wooden design of the nightstand. On top of one dresser was an old fashioned lamp, and a picture of two people Keith recognized.

Him and Lance.

Keith picked the picture up, gazing at it in wonder. It showed them dressed in hiking gear, in the middle of a dimly lit, foggy forest, Keith could tell it was drizzling based on the blur of the camera lense. Despite the grim background, both men wore bright smiles, showing off their left hands. Upon Lance’s finger was a red, gem encrusted ring, his hair seemed slightly shorter in the picture, peeking out underneath a hat bearing the familiar Altea symbol of a capital A with a comet circling it. His scar was still there, right across his left eye, but instead of ruining the look, it made Lance seem even more attractive.

Next to Lance stood a man Keith guessed was him, only with slight differences. His hair was cut short, lacking his signature mullett, and his face lacked any scars, only covered by a dark, small beard. He was smiling more than Keith had ever smiled before, violet eyes glinting with joy behind a pair of round glasses. Upon his left finger was a circular blade of grass.

Keith placed the picture back down on the dresser, noticing more pictures hanging about the room. Him and Lance doing face masks, going to an outdoor movie theatre, Halloweens, Valentines, Christmas. Pictures of dates and parties, beach vacations and...Keith swallowed hard.

Slowly, he walked over to a small photograph, hanging near the bed. Tears pricked in Keith’s eyes as he saw himself, standing next to his father, and what appeared to be a human version of his mom. In the background, Thanksgiving dinner could be seen. Keith had his arms thrown around both parents. His father had glasses on as well, both parents showing signs of wrinkles and grey hair, but both still as good looking as they had been in their youth.

Keith was so lost in thought, he didn’t hear the door open. “Hey kid,” Lance spoke, placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder, “Didn’t realize you were up, whatcha up to?”

Keith choked back a sob, pointing at the picture, “My dad...is he...is he still alive here?”

Lance’s hand fell from Keith’s shoulder, “Alive and well, him and your mother are currently on a mini vacation to California. I’m guessing it’s not the same for you?”

Keith shook his head, “My dad, he...he died, when I was little. Firefighter, ran in to save someone, never made it out.” A single tear fell down Keith’s face, “I didn’t have any other relatives at the time, so...I just got moved around. I was branded a bad kid, until one day I stole a visiting pilots car.”

“You did what?” Lance gazed at Keith with an almost new found pride, badly disguised by a frown.

Keith nodded, “Yup, it ended up being Shiro’s, once he realized I needed help, he kind of adopted me into the Garrison, a flight school. I was there until Shiro disappeared on a mission to Kerberos, I was kicked out for bad behavior.”

Lance stared at Keith for a moment more, before ruffling his hair, “You’re a good kid, Keith, I’m glad Shiro found you.”

Keith smiled, “So am I. Later on, I met my mother, she was part of the Blade of Marmora, a rebel group of Galra, she’d had to leave to protect me. So, at least I have her, but…” Another tear fell, “I still miss my dad.”

They stood in silence before Lance patted Keith on the back, “Whenever you’re ready, we made a late breakfast downstairs. Bathroom is down the hall, second to last door on the left,” He pointed at the dresser, “All of Keith’s clothes are on the right, feel free to borrow whatever you want.”

Keith nodded, “Thanks Lance,” he mumbled.

Lance shrugged, “It’s no problem, just make sure you hurry up, Matt keeps eyeing the pancakes.”

“Got it,” Keith said, as Lance walked out and closed the door. Keith walked over to the dresser, pulling out a deep purple button up and dark pants that looked like they would fit him. Obviously the Keith here didn’t work out as much, because both items of clothing seemed to stretch a little bit on him. Pulling on some black socks, Keith left the room and headed down stairs.

The whole house seemed to be following the same theme as the bedroom, with an old, wooden staircase, soft white carpeting, wooden walls painted white with little flowers. The living room was a little different, following a more modern look with dark carpeting, dark leather couches, and a large, sleek, black tv and sound system.

Entering the kitchen, there was white marble flooring, matching the island and countertops. Cabinets made of rosewood, and silver kitchen appliances. And, just like every other room in the house, pictures of friends, family, and just Keith and Lance served to fill the empty walls. The fridge was covered in sticky notes, reminders to buy more milk, and those little magnetic letters, spelling out ‘I LOVE YOU’, ‘DORK’, and of course, ‘YEET’.

The home seemed to be lit entirely by sunlight, large glass windows with matching pale blue curtains, and a big french door, leading out to a tiny patio covered in various plants. Along with the smell of breakfast, spanish music playing in the background, and the laughter and chatter of their motley crew, Keith felt a sense of belonging. This place was safe, warm, cozy. He felt something brush past his leg and looked down to see a blue merle collie run towards Lance.

Lance leaned down and stroked the dogs head, “Hey there Kosmo, have you met our new friend?” Lance pointed at Keith and the dog leapt towards him excitedly, jumping up on him.

“Woah there, down boy.” Keith commanded, Kosmo sat down, tongue wagging as if awaiting a treat.

Lance chuckled, “Kosmo was an engagement gift from Keith’s parents, he’s pretty friendly.”

“I noticed that,” Keith said, smiling. He reached down and scratched Kosmo behind his ears. “So, where exactly are we? Does Lotor know where we are?”

Lance shook his head, “This is what keith and I call, The Garden House, we got it under false names after being engaged. To everyone but those of us who are here, this house belongs to Leandro and Akira Sanchez.”

Matt tapped his head, “Pretty smart if you ask me, now we have a safe house!” He stuffed a piece of bacon in his mouth, “Humfrey Heef?” He passed Keith a plate of food across the island.

Keith nodded, “Yeah, thanks.” He began eating as Lance sat down on a cushioned stool, a serious look in his eyes.

“Now, down to business,” Lance said, “To summarize, Lotor knows about Voltron, he wants us all arrested and Keith here as his new play toy, and some person named Piccione knows not only all of that, but also about Keith being from another universe, and the safe house Keith and I own.”

“Who exactly _is_ Piccione?” Shiro asked.

Lance shook his head, “I don’t know, they said they’d meet us here, but I haven’t seen or heard from them yet.”

Matt pondered for a moment, “ _Piccione_ , that’s Italian.”

Keith looked up in surprise, “How did you know that?”

“My family has Italian roots, my grandpa used to call Katie his little piccione, pigeon.”

“Why pigeon?”

Matt shrugged, “I dunno, but it fit her pretty well. My big question is, why would this guy call himself pigeon?”

“Because!” A voice shouted from the doorway, “It sounds mysterious and badass!”

All men froze where they were, turning towards to sound. Matt’s jaw dropped, “ _Katie?_ ” he shrieked.

Katie walked in and snatched a piece of bacon off Matt’s plate, sitting down next to him. “Sup, bitches,” She said, Katie turned her head and stared Keith directly in the eyes, “We have work to do.”

***

The screen flickers to life, standing before the camera is Pidge, this time with Lance standing beside her, “What’s up folks!” She says, “It seems a few readers liked this little 4th wall break, and the author realized more people read this than they do the notes, so, by popular demand, I’m back!”

Lance gives a little wave, “I’m just guest starring.” He leans over to Pidge, and whispers in her ear, “hey, can they actually hear us?”

Pidge nods, “Yup! Unless they’re that one loser who decides not to keep reading.”

Lance nods, “Got it.”

Pidge claps her hands, “Well, anyway, back to business! As you can all see, this chapter is a lot longer than any previous chapters, about...10 pages longer actually, holy crap,” Pidge turned her head behind her towards the small ball of blankets, “You...you doing ok there Nerdqueen?”

The ball makes no movements, all that can be heard is the Eminem Venom song playing on repeat.

Pidge turns back to the camera slowly, “Ooookay then. Anyway, longer chapter, weird update time. Most of the updates will be like this from now on, longer chapters, but you’ll have no idea when they’ll be coming in, and neither does the author.”

“That means,” Lance says, “You’ll need to either check continuously, or, for ease of mind, try bookmarking it. You’ll see a little button on the bottom of the page, if you have an account, you can click that button and the story will be saved for you. This way, whenever you get on, you can just go to your page, find your bookmarks, and check if it’s updated.”

“And if you don’t want anybody to see that you read gay fanfiction when they visit your profile, you can even make to bookmark private, meaning no one but you can see it. After all, we don’t anyone to be outed, or called out if they aren’t comfortable with people knowing about this.” Pidge finishes.

“Make sure you leave a kudos too!” Lance exclaims, “Kudos are like likes, basically, and comments too! The author makes it a personal goal to respond to every comment you leave, although sometimes she doesn’t understand modern slang. For instance,” Lance screws up his nose, “What the hell is ‘wig’? Do you mean like, you want Lotor in a wig? Is it like an acronym? The author is really bad at this stuff, she only just realized at SMH means.”

“The author would also like to note that fanart is deeply appreciated, and she’ll try to put it in the story as well. Just tag everything with #Klanceswappedau! And, if you want sneak peaks or to add something of your own to the story, find her on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr under Nerdqueen395, or check out her discord, https://discord.gg/AsQVmkr ” Pidge completes.

“The author would like to thank you for the continued support and understanding! She’s a little nervous about the whole thing because she’s never written a Voltron shipping story, let alone gay fanfiction!”

“And,” Pidge puffs out her chest proudly, “The author forgot to mention this last week, so HAPPY BELATED ACE SUPPORT WEEK! The author herself is ace, albeit one who hasn’t come out to her family, and probably never will because it won’t impact them at all. So, to all those aces out there, be you straight, gay, pan, trans, aro, bi, etc., STAND PROUD, after all, why frick-frack when you can snick-snack?” Pidge wiggles her brows.

“To finish this off,” Lance says, “Tune in next time to see what happens when the universes try to contact each other, will Lotor find them? What dangers await our paladins on the other side? Coming to you, WHENEVER!”

The screen flickers, dies, then blinks back to life, revealing a single Galra soldier, hunkered in a nearby cave. He clutches his gun to his chest, rocking back and forth, “Just you watch, filthy paladins,” He mutters under his breath, “Just you wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my discord fam for helping with the idea for this fic, and for my cat, Little Bit, who sat on my legs and licked my toes while I wrote this.


End file.
